it's worth repeating that perfect love casts out all fear.

fear is such a gripping emotion. it is one of the strongest emotions humans can feel..ranking right up there with anger.

fear can be legitimate. when i am going up the first hill of a roller coaster, i feel fear. when i almost get in a car accident, i feel fear. when my husband tells me he is cooking dinner, i feel great fear!!

fear can also be irrational, though. we fear that we are going to fail in life. we fear that we are not good enough to have God's love and forgiveness. we live with the fear that something awful is lurking around the corner. we can even fear feeling fear and anxiety!! talk about a trap!

i have felt the trap of fear before. it consumed my mind and wouldn't let me enjoy the special moments of life.

life can throw many curveballs our way. we have to choose to turn away from fear and turn ourselves to see God's face!

don't let fear hold you captive. take risks! enjoy the abundant life Christ died to give you!! make those thoughts of fear bow down to the Prince of peace!!

Blessings!

it's worth repeating that kids grow up TOO fast...

today i had a bittersweet moment. i have known for a long time that i have to cut my little Nash's hair..he is our youngest baby and turned one in june. his hair was getting longer and longer and i just didn't want to cut it because i didn't want him to look grown up. every baby boy i had seen that had gotten their hair cut just all the sudden looked like little men and not babies anymore.

so as i started cutting nash's hair today i had a hard time. it took me a while to make the first cut. after about10 minutes i had to call matt to come home and give me some support, both emotional and physical. (it is not easy to keep a 13 month old sitting still for very long and i didn't want to cut off his ear!)

our oldest daughter annie couldn't handle it. she just started crying and wouldn't stop. she kept saying that he looks too different now and she doesn't recognize him. she was mad at us for cutting it....

in the end, we cut off a lot of hair, and we made some memories, and my little baby now looks like a toddler...

time is such a gift..we can't get minutes, hours, days, months or years back... once my little kids become big kids, and then young adults, and then old adults, i hope i can look back and know that i gave my time, one of the best gifts i can give, to my children...

where do you spend the bulk of your time?? make time today for the people you love!

blessings!